It’s quite a distinction. “Mad Men” is the only current TV series on the Writers Guild list of top 25 shows of all time. The only other recent series is “Breaking Bad.” The top show for all time, according to a poll of WGA writers, is “The Sopranos,” followed by “The Twilight Zone.” As the list widens out to its full 101 of all time, some other series like Downton Abbey and The Colbert Report are noted. You’ll see “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Seinfeld” up there as well. As much I love “The Sopranos,” I think I would have chosen “I Love Lucy” as the template for almost all TV. But that’s what these lists are about aren’t they, to get people talking? http://wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925
1. The Sopranos – HBO – Created by David Chase
2. Seinfeld – NBC – Created by Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
3. The Twilight Zone (1959) – CBS – Season One writers: Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Presnell, Jr., Rod Serling
4. All in the Family – CBS – Developed for Television by Norman Lear, Based on Till Death Do Us Part, Created by Johnny Speight
5. M*A*S*H – CBS – Developed for Television by Larry Gelbart
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show – CBS – Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns
7. Mad Men – AMC – Created by Matthew Weiner
8. Cheers – NBC – Created by Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows
9. The Wire – HBO – Created by David Simon
10. The West Wing – NBC – Created by Aaron Sorkin
11. The Simpsons – FOX – Created by Matt Groening, Developed by James L. Brooks and Matt Groening and Sam Simon
12. I Love Lucy – CBS – “Pilot,” Written by Jess Oppenheimer & Madelyn Pugh & Bob Carroll, Jr.
13. Breaking Bad – AMC – Created by Vince Gilligan
14. The Dick Van Dyke Show – CBS – Created by Carl Reiner
15. Hill Street Blues – NBC – Created by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco
16. Arrested Development – FOX – Created by Mitchell Hurwitz
17. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – COMEDY CENTRAL – Created by Madeleine Smithberg, Lizz Winstead; Season One – Head Writer: Chris Kreski; Writers: Jim Earl, Daniel J. Goor, Charles Grandy, J.R. Havlan, Tom Johnson, Kent Jones, Paul Mercurio, Guy Nicolucci, Steve Rosenfield, Jon Stewart
18. Six Feet Under – HBO – Created by Alan Ball
19. Taxi – ABC – Created by James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels and David Davis and Ed Weinberger
20. The Larry Sanders Show – HBO – Created by Garry Shandling & Dennis Klein
21. 30 Rock – NBC – Created by Tina Fey
22. Friday Night Lights – NBC – Developed for Television by Peter Berg, Inspired by the Book by H.G. Bissinger
23. Frasier – NBC – Created by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee, Based on the Character “Frasier Crane” Created by Glen Charles & Les Charles
24. Friends – NBC – Created by Marta Kauffman & David Crane
25. Saturday Night Live – NBC – Season One: Writing Supervised by Walter Kempley, Harry Shearer; Written by: Ann Beatts, Chevy Chase, Tom Davis, Al Franken, Rosie Michaels, Garrett Morris, Michael O’Donoghue, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Alan Zweibel
